California hopes to have familiarity with quarterback before opener in Australia
California will play in the most exotic season opener among Pac-12 teams when it faces Hawaii in Sydney, Australia, on Aug. 27.
The trip required the Golden Bears to secure 120 passports for players and tips for enduring the 14½-hour flight. They also secured a waiver from the NCAA to play the game early, allowing for a week off before Cal’s next game against San Diego State.
The Golden Bears will hold morning practices in Australia followed by afternoon sightseeing.
“We’ve got to do a great job of balancing preparation and allowing them to enjoy it,” Cal Coach Sonny Dykes said Thursday during Pac-12 media days in Hollywood.
The team hopes to have some familiarity with their starting quarterback before arriving on foreign soil.
The candidates to replace record-setting quar- terback Jared Goff are sophomore Chase Forrest, freshmen Ross Bowers and Victor Viramontes and highly touted graduate transfer Davis Webb.
Webb easily has the most impressive resume, having thrown for 5,557 yards and 46 touchdowns with 22 interceptions in 23 games over three seasons at Texas Tech.
It also helps that Webb played in a spread offense similar to Cal’s.
“We were just impressed with his maturity and work ethic and how committed he was to joining a team and having a role on the team whether it’s the third-team quarterback or the starter,” Dykes said.
Given Webb’s experience level, the latter scenario seems far more likely.
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